


Friends

by Whiskey_cokenfanfic23



Category: Chris Evans - Fandom, chris evans rpf - Fandom
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-29
Updated: 2018-12-29
Packaged: 2019-09-29 18:59:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,166
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17209115
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Whiskey_cokenfanfic23/pseuds/Whiskey_cokenfanfic23
Summary: Chris has broken up with his on again off again girlfriend and he turns to his friends to help him out.





	1. Chapter 1

“I think we should call her,” Anthony said.

“Yeah, you’re right,” sighed Sebastian. “I don’t like seeing him like this.”

They both looked over at their friend, sitting slumped over his beer.

\---

Right as she was taking her latest culinary attempt out of the oven, her cell rang.

“Ow! Damnit!!” she exclaimed as her arm touched the side of the still hot pan when she reached for her phone.

“What?!” She yelled into her phone.

“Well hey to you too, Short Stuff.” Anthony said from the other end, using the nickname he’d given her from the moment they’d met.

“This better be good, Mackie!” she said, running cold water over her arm. “I was just taking dinner out of the oven.”

“Oooh, so that’s what I smelled. I thought someone was burning roadkill.”

“Ha ha ha.” she mock-laughed. “What do you want?”

“Yeah, we have a sort of emergency.”

“What does that mean ‘sort of emergency’ and who is ‘we’?” She turned the tap off “Where are you?”

“We’re at Jay’s me, Sebastian and Chris, and Chris is….”

“Is wh...Wait, wait, no, don’t tell me,” she said putting the pieces together. “They broke up again didn’t they?”

“Yep,” Anthony sighed.

“You know, this shit is really getting old.” she said angrily. Then her voice softened “How’s he doing?”

“Honestly, Short Stuff, I can’t tell, something is different.” He looked over at his friend, Sebastian’s arm around his shoulders trying to get him to talk. Lowering his voice Anthony said “I think it may be worse this time. I think they’re finally over, for good.”

She snorted “Yeah right, we say that, then she’ll do like she always does as soon as he gets interested in someone else and swoop in and ruin it, and him.”

“Yeah, possibly, but for now we need to focus on him.”

“Okay, you and Seb are there why d’you need me?”

“Weeeellllll…”

“Oh you have plans, so you called me?”

“Basically.”

“How do you know I don’t have plans?”

He scoffed “Cuz it’s you, no offense Shorty, but you never do anything.”

“Whatever.”

“No seriously,  _ do _ you have plans? Cuz if you do we can call someone else.”

After a pause, she sighed and said “No, no. Give me a few minutes. I’m on my way.”

“Thanks, Short Stuff.”

“Yeah, yeah…”

She hung up the phone and went into her room to change. She rushed back into the living room, blowing out the candles she had set out and lit around the room and on the table, then into the kitchen checking that the stove was off and grabbed her phone and keys.

As she left the building she sent a text.

 

> Hey sorry. An emergency came up. I gotta get one of my friends. Next weekend ok?

_ Um Ok, it’s fine _

>Cool. Thnx.

__

She sent the last message before she entered the bar. Thank god she lived only a few blocks from there and that she met such an understanding guy. The guys -- Sebastian, Anthony, Chris -- didn’t know about him. She wouldn't be able to take the mocking from them and she wasn’t eager for him to meet them either. They like to act like her big brothers and they loved to intimidate the guys she dated. Normally she’d laughed it off, but this guy she actually liked and she didn’t want him to be scared off.

But her dating life wasn’t the issue right at this moment, Chris’s was. He and Erica dated, broke up and got back together. They were worse than the middle school kids she mentored. They were all used to it, but it wasn’t something they enjoyed. Every time they broke up it devastated Chris. 

When they’d all first met, she had a huge crush on Chris, but he was dating Erica then, and frankly she’d been too shy to even make a move. As time went on, and they became like a surrogate family to her, her crush began to fade. There were still times, however, where she’d catch herself daydreaming about him: his eyes, his arms, his lips… 

She sighed and looked around for them; soon spotting them in a dark corner away from prying eyes. Not many people knew about or frequented the little dive bar, but it was one of their favorite haunts since it was close to her apartment. That way they could just stumble the few blocks over to her place and sleep off the drinks they’d had.

She walked over to their booth, nodding at Jay as she passed the bar. She gave Anthony a play slap on the top of his head as she walked past and slid in next to Sebastian, to whom she gave a hug and kiss on the cheek.

“Why does he get a kiss and I get hit?” 

“Cuz she loves me more, Mackie.” Seb said smiling and winking at her.

“Yeah yeah we all know  _ I’m _ her favorite!” Anthony replied indignantly. 

“I don’t have a favorite. Frankly, I don’t like any of you.” she said leaning back and crossing her arms.

“That’s a lie.” Sebastian huffed. “You love us. It’s ok. Don’t deny your feelings.”

She laughed. “Yeah. Yeah…” She looked over at Chris. “Hey, Pooh Bear.” 

He gave a shadow of a smile at her nickname for him. She reached across the table and touched his hand; he finally looked up at her, his eyes sad. She felt a surge of anger,  _ How could anyone treat a guy like Chris this way? _ She wondered. Out loud she asked: “How much have you had to drink?”

“Like three.” He mumbled.

“Good, cuz I can’t carry you home by myself.”

“M’okay.” he began to protest.

“Nah, I’m taking you back to mines. When’s the last time you slept? Ate something?”

He just shrugged his shoulders.

“Lucky for you, I’ve just cooked.”

The three of them winced.

“Look, we’re trying to help him, not put him in the ICU.” Anthony said.

“My cooking is not  _ that _ bad.” she said, looking at each of them. “Is it?”

None of them said anything.

“Okay, Okay, no food, but you need to get some rest.”

Chris just sighed. 

“C’mon, man. Let’s get you out of here.” she wheedled. “As much as I like to drink, even I have to admit the answer to your problems isn’t at the bottom of a glass. And as much as I  _ tolerate _ these two, they aren’t the best to talk to.”

“Hey!” Anthony and Sebastian began in protest and Chris smiled.

She waved her hand to silence them. “You and I’ll talk, it’ll make you feel better.”

He looked at her again, and she smiled seeing a little light come back into his blue eyes. She was getting there.

“Come on, Pooh Bear.”

He let out a small chuckle, “Okay.” He downed the last of his drink and stood.

She went to the bar and paid Jay, Chris opened his mouth in protest but she cut him off. “You’ll pay me back.” And led the way out of the bar.

\--

The four of them walked into her apartment. Sebastian looked around her place.

“Hey, umm, what’s with all the candles? And this table setting?” he asked her.

“Uh, nothing…”

“Nah, Short Stuff, it looks like something.” Anthony said.

“No, no, nothing.”

“Did… did you have a date?” Sebastian asked turning to look at her with an eyebrow cocked.

_ Might as well tell them now that they’ve seen it,  _ she reasoned to herself. 

“Ummm, yeah, kinda.” She said out loud.

“With who?” Anthony asked.

She looked at the three of them all staring at her; waiting for answer.

“With a guy I met.” She said quietly.

“ _ WHAT!? _ ” 

She cleared her throat.

Anthony’s phone rang in his pocket. He took it out and looked at it. 

“We gotta go,” he said to Sebastian. Looking at her he said “We are definitely gonna have a talk about this.”

“She had a  _ date _ ,” Sebastian said walking toward the door. “I can't believe this.”

She closed the door behind them and turned to look at Chris who was walking around looking at the setup.

“You never told me you were dating someone.” he said stopping to lean on the counter and look at her.

“Yeah well…” she stopped and shrugged. 

“I mean this has to be a big deal, you got the candles and nice plates. We only get paper plates.”

She let out a breath. He was not the one she wanted to have this conversation with. She was still nervous when she was alone with him. She went to the refrigerator to get some water.

He let out a little chuckle.

“What?” She asked, her head in the fridge.

“Funny, I always thought you had a thing for me.”

She straightened up slowly, water in her hand, and turned to look at him. He looked at her with a small smile on his lips. She couldn’t help it, she looked at his lips, once again wondering what it would be like to kiss him. Opening her water she looked away and took a sip, giving herself some time to get her thoughts together.

Once she swallowed, she smiled and asked sarcastically “Whatever gave you that idea Evans?”

He grinned at her and said “I’ve seen the way you look at me sometimes.”

“Whatever.” she mumbled and went to clean up the dishes.

He stepped in front of her as she reached for a pot and grabbed her hand. He took a few steps closer to her, leaving about an inch of space between them. 

He was a good head taller than she was, so she didn’t have to meet his eyes. She stared at his chest until he tilted her chin up so she had to meet his eyes. 

“C’mon, I know I’m right.”

She opened her mouth to answer when her phone chimed. She took a reluctant step back and looked at her phone. She had a text:

_ Hey, babe. All good? _

She smiled and answered back.

>Yeah. All good :)

Chris watched her as she texted this guy and frowned a bit. She put her phone down and looked over at him. What was that look on his face? Jealousy? Nah couldn’t be.  

“What?” she asked.

“So uh, how long has…  _ this _ … been going on?”

She shrugged “Dunno about a week or two.”

“Why’d you hide it from me?”

“I wasn’t hiding it exactly, I just know how you guys are.” Seeing the confused look he gave her at that statement she clarified “You know the three of you always managed to chase off every guy I’ve brought around. And I really like this guy --”

“Does ‘this guy’ have a name?”

“Jason.”

“ _ Jason, _ ” Chris repeated. “Hmm basic name.”

“Really? You’re saying that  _ Christopher _ ?”

He smirked. “Okay fair enough. Sorry.”

“Right. Besides I know what you’re doing.”

“What’s that?”

“Avoiding talking about  _ your _ problem.” She crossed her arms and looked at him, he got that sad look in his eyes again and looked away. “That was what that whole little  _ stunt _ was about.”

She took a step near him. “Look I don’t mean anything by it, but you really do need to talk about it.”

He shook his head.

“Ok, I’ll make a deal with you: you talk about this thing with Erica and I’ll tell you whatever you wanna know about Jason. How about it?”

He sighed, “Okay. Deal. Truth?”

“Truth, yeah.”

“Well, ladies first.” he said leaning back on the counter.

“Ok, well help me with this clean up.” She reached for the pot again “Right, so what happened this time?”

He paused for a moment. “I honestly don’t know how to explain it. We were arguing, again, and I just started thinking to myself ‘Why am I doing this,’ ya know? Why am I putting myself through this misery again?”

She nodded.

“And I decided that I couldn’t deal with it anymore. How many times has she broken up with me and when I finally find some peace, she comes back and I go back?”

“Why do you go back?”

“Dunno, guess I feel like I can’t find anyone better?”

She stopped cleaning and looked at him. “Really? You? You know you could have anyone you wanted right? You’d just have to take your pick.”

“That’s the thing though, I don’t just want ‘ _ anyone.’ _ ”

“Guess that makes sense.” She conceded.

He sighed, reaching for the pan she handed him. “So I just stopped talking and let her yell, when she was finished, I told her it was over and I didn’t want to see her again.”

“Wait, you’re telling me  _ you _ broke it off? For real?”

Despite himself, he smiled as he nodded. He knew she was notorious for breaking up with him. This time, he wasn’t gonna go back. He had other plans.

“So, you weren’t drinking cuz you were sad?”

“Nah, not exactly. I mean I am kinda sad it’s over for good, but honestly, I’m more relieved.”

She put an arm around his waist, squeezing a bit. “Well, I am pleasantly surprised and proud of you.”

“Thanks.” He cleared his throat. “Truth, right?”

“Yeah.”

“What did you really think about her?”

“At first I did like her, but I got this… feeling. Something about her just didn’t feel right. And at first I thought it was just me being jealous, cuz I had this huge crush on y…” she stopped and looked at him. He looked back at her with a huge smile.

“Go on.”

“I uh, had this huge crush on you,” she finished quietly. “Then as I got to know you guys and saw how she treated you, I decided I really did not like her.”

He laughed “She didn’t like you either.”

“Ooh really now?”

“Nope.” he said wiping up the water from the edge of the sink. “She didn’t like the way you looked at me.”

“Yeah, well, kinda hard not to look at you.” she mumbled as she put the last of the dishes up.

“I heard that.” 

She smiled and walked into her room, him following close behind. She plopped down on her bed.

“Okay, Pooh Bear, your turn. I got my answers.”

“You know, you’re the only person I let give me a ridiculous nickname outside my family?” He said stretching out next to her.

“I’m truly honored.”

“So  _ Jason _ … where’d you meet this guy?”

“Bookstore,” she said simply.

“Care to elaborate?”

“Fine,” she huffed. “We met at that bookstore on 13th, I was looking for this book on the Wars of the Roses…”

“Nerd.” he interjected.

“Whatever, anyway, turns out he was looking for the same book and we just hit it off talking about history…”

“Nerds.” 

She hit him with one of her pillows. He laughed grabbing it from her. 

“He asked me out and we’ve been seeing each other since.” 

“So, are you like in love with him?”

She cocked her head to the side. “No… why?”

“No reason.” 

“Uh-uh, Evans. Truth remember?”

He blushed and said quickly, “Well, it was nice knowing you had a thing for me. Good to know that someone so sweet and wonderful liked me.”

“Awww, well, you’re right, I am wonderful.” She said trying to ease his embarrassment.

He smiled. 

“Oh, I have one more question.” He said.

“Shoot.”

“Why did you call what I did in the kitchen a ‘stunt.’”

“Cuz that’s what it was, wasn’t it? I mean you weren’t really gonna kiss me, were you?”

“What if I was? Would you have stopped me? I mean I don’t think Jason would like it if he knew.”

“No, probably not.” she muttered.

“Right, so, we gotta consider Jason.”

“No, I meant I probably wouldn’t have stopped you.”

“Really now?” he inched closer. “Why is that?”

She got quiet, staring at him. Those blue  eyes that crinkled a bit at the corners when he smiled big and those sinfully long lashes. The beard that she always wondered if it was soft or rough. She reached out and touched his cheek, rubbing her thumb across his beard.  _ Soft _ , she thought. Her eyes darted down to his lips.

He inched closer still, and whispered again “Why wouldn’t you stop me.”

She let out a shaky breath and said “Because I always wanted to kiss you.”

“That’s what I figured.” he said grabbing her other hand and pulling her on his lap and kissed her. 

Her eyes closed as she straddled him, her arms around his neck, nails dragging softly up and down the nape of his neck until she twined her fingers in his hair. His hands were rubbing on her thighs.

She started moving her hips, feeling him grow harder. He moved his hands up her body from her hips to her ass, giving it a squeeze, til his hands were under her shirt. His hands felt good against her skin. She pulled away from the kiss. Before he could ask her why she stopped, she pulled off her shirt. Revealing the lacy underwear she had worn for that night. He smiled at her. He knew it was supposed to be for Jason, what she was wearing, but it was for him now. 

Right now, she was his. No one else mattered.

She got off his lap and her pants went the same way as her shirt. 

Black lace.

The look of the fabric against her skin, made his mouth water. He reached out a hand to pull her back to him, but she smiled and shook her head.

“What?” 

“No fair, Evans, you are wearing far too many clothes.”

He smirked and pulled his shirt over his head. He stood up and his pants followed. In nothing but his boxers, his erection pressing against the fabric.

“Better?” 

“Works for me,” she said and stood on the tips of her toes to kiss him again. She could feel how hard he was against her stomach. 

He turned her around and gently pushed her to the bed and climbed on top of her. He began kissing her on her neck, down between her breasts, stopping to tease one nipple then the other through her lacy bra. Licking and sucking them, teasing them with his fingers. She let out a moan and arched her back wanting him to keep going. 

He kissed down her stomach to her lace covered core. Licking a stripe up her slit he laughed and said “I can feel how soaked you are now, and I haven’t even gotten started.”

All she could do was moan in anticipation for what he was about to do. He slid her panties down and began licking up her slit, sticking his tongue in and lapping up her juices. He moved his tongue to her clit, licking it before planting his plump lips around it and sucking. At that first suck her back arched up off the bed and she cried out his name. He smiled to himself and grabbed her thighs, putting them on his shoulders. While his mouth was on the sensitive nub, he put one of his fingers inside her, moving it in and out, curving it in  ‘come here motion’ hitting her sweet spot. She gasped and grabbed the sheets, moving her lower body, wanting more.

He stopped abruptly. He moved from in between her legs and stood up. She looked up at him and watched him take off his boxers.

“Why’d you stop? I was close!”

“I know,” he said walking to her bedside table and reaching into the drawer, pulling out a condom, he opened the pack and rolled it on. 

“So?” she asked

“So,” he said, positioning himself between her legs, “I want to feel you cum on me.”

“Oh,” she said.

“That okay?”

She nodded and laid back on the bed. He pulled her to the edge and stood between her legs. He lined himself up against her opening, slowly sliding himself all the way in. Lifting her legs, he started thrusting in and out of her, making her moan out his name. He gripped her legs to keep her from sliding back. 

“Open your eyes and look at me sweetheart.” he commanded. 

She looked up at him, at his gorgeous toned body. His blue eyes blown with lust. He was so fucking handsome, and she wanted him closer to her. 

She took her legs from his arms and slid back on the bed. “Come here.” she said.

He leaned forward, his body flush against hers. She wrapped her legs around his slim waist as he entered her again. He was moving slowly, letting her feel every inch of him drag in and out. She ran her fingers through his hair, down his neck, digging her nails into his back. He knew he’d have marks tomorrow but it didn’t matter. He kissed her again and again. Moving from her shoulder to her neck, stopping to suck a mark there. He then moved to her lips, kissing her slowly, sliding his tongue in her mouth. 

Sliding a hand between their bodies he started rubbing on the sensitive nub in slow agonizing circles drawing loud moans and curses from her lips. She bucked against him feeling herself coming closer and closer to the edge. 

“That’s it, baby. Let loose. Let me feel you.”

With those words she finally felt herself falling over the edge as her orgasm washed over her. He wasn’t far behind feeling her pussy fluttering around him. He let go with a groan.

He rolled off of her and looked over at her, still squirming from her release, glistening with sweat. He smiled at her.

“What?” she panted

He reached over to cup her face with his hand, rubbing his thumb over her cheek. “Nothin’’ he replied.

“It’s something, go ahead and share.”

He pulled her to him “You’re amazing, you know that?”

“You’re not so bad yourself, Pooh Bear.”

He chuckled and sat up, swinging his legs to the floor.

“You ditchin’ me already?”

“Nah, just need the bathroom.”

She watched him walk away then laid back and smiled to herself. The thing she had daydreamed about, what she had wanted since she met him, had finally happened. Today was a great day. 

Her phone lit up and chimed. She reached for it and checked the message.

_ Hey, I’m free tomorrow. Wanna meet? _

Shit. She’d forgotten about Jason.

 


	2. Friends Part 2

She didn’t know how to respond to Jason. How do you tell the guy you cancelled a date on that you just had sex,  _ amazing _ sex, with one of your best friends? Besides she didn’t even know if this was just a one time thing with Chris. He did just break up with is girlfriend. Maybe she was just a rebound? But, that would be awkward, wouldn’t it? Him sleeping with her once to get over his break up then going back to the way things were before.  _ Could _ they go back? What were they now?

“Stop! You’re overthinking.” she whispered to herself.

Her thumbs hovered over the screen, trying to figure out what to say. She quickly typed  _ Let me get back to you in a few.  _ And hit send.

Chris walked out of the bathroom and slid into bed with her. Reaching out, he pulled her to him so they were facing each other. He wanted to be close to her. She was so warm and comforting. He kissed her again,

“You know, I could get used to this.” he said.

“Yeah, me too.”

She laid her head on his chest, and he pulled the blanket up around them. She pushed all the uncertain thoughts from her head. This moment, this was one she was going to savor. She sighed and snuggled a little closer and he held her tighter. They soon fell asleep.

An hour or so later she was woken up by her phone ringing. She rolled over to her side and reached for it, squinting at the screen to see who was calling her this late.

It was Jason.

Without thinking, she answered.

“Hello?”

“Oh, hey. Sorry did I wake you up?”

“Kinda. It’s okay though.”

“Cool, how’s your friend? Everything work out?”

She looked over at Chris. He was sleeping so peacefully. Hand on his stomach, chest rising up and down with each breath, and a small smile on his lips.

“He’s doing a lot better thanks.”

“That’s good. Look I just called to ask you about tomorrow. We can just meet for coffee or something?”

She sat up and got out of bed, walking into the next room.

“Umm yeah. That works for me.”  _ Then maybe I can explain about what happened between me and Chris,  _ she thought.

“Great! Is noon good for you? We can meet at the bookstore. We can get a bite to eat too.”

“Yeah that sounds good.”

“Awesome! I’ll see you then.”

She hung up and walked back into her room and climbed back into bed. As she was reaching to put her phone back, she heard Chris’s voice.

“Who was that? Jason?”

She turned to look at him “Yeah.”

“What did he want?”

“Just to see if I could meet with him tomorrow.”

“What did you say?” he tried to sound nonchalant but the look on his face gave him away. It was that same look he’d had in the kitchen when he almost kissed her, right after Jason had text her. Only this time she was sure it was jealousy.

“I told him yes.” she then added quickly “But it’s just for coffee.”

“Yeah okay cool.” he said bitterly.

“Seriously?”

“What? You can have coffee with whoever you want.”

“Why are you acting like this?”

“Why am I act… you don’t get it, do you?”

“No. obviously not. Explain it.”

“After what we just did, you’re just gonna go out with another guy? How am I supposed to act?”

“Chris, it’s nothing serious. Besides you and I aren’t even together, we just had sex and…”

He cut her off “Oh! That’s it then?”

“No! I misspoke, what I mean…”

He threw off the covers and hopped out of bed. He started putting on his clothes. She got up and tried to talk to him. She put a hand on his arm, but he shook her off angrily. 

“Chris, talk to me.” But he wouldn’t even look at her. He headed to her door and she threw on her shirt and followed him.

Just as his hand was on the knob, he stopped and turned to her, taking in the distressed look on her face. He almost caved in then, but he couldn’t. Wasn’t this the same way Erica always got him? Not again, not anymore.

“You just have fun on your little date.” he spat out. “I hope you and Jason are happy together.”

“Chris, if you’d just let me explain.”

“Explain what? You agreed to go out with some guy only an hour after we slept together. What’s to explain?”

She opened her mouth to tell him that she was only going to meet Jason to tell him what happened. To let him down easily.

Chris went on to say “You know what? You and Erica are alike.”

“Excuse me?!” Did he really just compare her to that harpy?

“You heard me! You just used me like she…”

“ _ Used  _ you? I didn’t use you!  _ You _ kissed me first! You - you started this!”

“That was my mistake then. I thought this could go somewhere, but I was wrong.” He turned around and opened the door and walked out.

She stood there opened mouthed, hurt, angry, and confused. She couldn’t believe what had just happened,  few minutes ago they were happy. Now he was gone. And the cherry on top of this shit sundae was that he had compared her to his ex. All over Jason. He didn’t even give her a chance to explain.

She walked back into her room and crawled back into bed. It was still warm from where he had been. She rubbed her eyes and her hands came back wet with tears. 

\----

ONE MONTH LATER

She had been walking around in a haze of misery. The day after their fight, she had met with Jason. He could tell there was something wrong and after a bit of pressing, she finally let it all spill out. Surprisingly, he was understanding. He could tell she really cared about, maybe even was in love with, her friend. Jason figured pursuing her wouldn’t be the best course of action. Sure he liked her, but she wasn’t available, not emotionally, so he let it go. He did give her a shoulder to cry on, though.

“Try and find a way to talk to him. Let him know that -” he took a deep breath. “Let him know that I’m not in the picture anymore.”

She had looked at him in shock. 

“Look,” he said smiling “I really do like you, and I think we could have had something, but not like this. Not while you care for someone else.”

“Thank you.” she had said, wiping her tears away.

So now here she was trying to figure out what to do. All her attempts to call or text him had gone ignored. Anthony and Sebastian told her how Chris had been walking around upset, but not willing to talk. Honestly, she was ready to throw in the towel.

She was at Jay’s Bar when Anthony and Sebastian found her, drinking alone.

“Hey, Short Stuff.” Anthony said walking up to where she was sitting, putting an arm around her shoulders while Sebastian ordered their drinks.

She gave him a sad smile, “Hey.”

“We came to talk to you. We figured we could find you here.” Sebastian explained sitting on her other side.

“What is going on with you two? This past month has been weird. Everytime we say your name around Chris, he gets all upset.” 

“And everytime we mention Chris around you, you get this look on your face.” She looked down, trying to hold tears back. “Yeah, that one! The hell is going on?” Anthony looked at her.

“He didn’t tell you?” she asked

They shook their heads. She sighed and looked around for a spot away from the bar. Spotting a booth in the corner she grabbed her drink and walked over. 

Once they were settled, she explained what had happened. To their credit they didn’t get mad at her.

“... and after I told Jason, he was cool about it. He said I should try to talk to Chris and explain, but he won’t talk to me.” She finished

“Damn, that’s ridiculous, Shorty.” Anthony said

She nodded.

“I mean, the two of you  _ finally _ hooking up aside, I can’t believe you two aren’t talking. over this.”

“Yeah… wait, ‘ _ finally’ _ ? What do you mean by that?”

“What he means is, we’ve seen the way you two are together.” Sebastian explained. “Even when he was with Erica, we could tell he had feelings for you.”

“Probably, why she didn’t like you.” Anthony added.

“Also, probably why he finally broke things off with her for good.” Sebastian finished.

“So, you two aren’t mad at me?” she asked.

“Nah, and honestly, I get why he got mad.” Sebastian said and added quickly seeing her frown. “He was just coming out of that break up, feeling good, thinking that he finally had someone great and he  _ thought _ it all was for nothing.”

“So, knowing what happened, maybe we can get him to talk to you. I don’t like seeing you sad, Short Stuff, or him.” Anthony sat back and finished his drink.

“I… thanks, you guys.”

“We’re actually meeting him for lunch soon. He said he had something to tell us. Why don’t you join us? That way you can talk to him and we can keep him from walking away.” Sebastian suggested.

“Yeah, he’s not gonna make a scene in public.” Anthony agreed. “That may work.”

She shrugged. “Worth a shot.” She said and finished her drink.

\---

The tiro walked to York Place, the restaurant where Anthony and Sebastian had agreed to meet Chris for lunch. The two of them joked around and by the time they made it to the restaurant, she had cheered up considerably. They took their seats and told the hostess there was another joining them.

“You okay?” Sebastian asked, noticing her bouncing leg and tapping fingers. “You seem a little nervous.”

“Yeah, yeah I’m fine. I just can’t believe this is finally happening.”

“Well relax, it’s gonna be alright. We’re here. He’ll listen. Don’t worry.”

She took a sip of her water, and tried to relax. They were right, they’d get him to listen. Hopefully, he’d understand, and they could make up. She hated not having him around.

“There he is,” Anthony said, nodding at the door.

She turned in her chair. There he was indeed. Handsome as ever. She felt her heart flutter at the sight of him. The memory of their one night came flooding back in a rush. Unable to help herself, she smiled at him. Sadly, he just scowled at her as he approached the table. Her smile quickly faded. This wasn’t going to be easy.

“Hey guys,” he said to Anthony and Sebastian. “What’s she doing here?”

“Woah, now, none of that negativity man.” Anthony said.

“Yeah, we brought her to talk. This whole thing between you two has gone on far too long. Let’s resolve this.” Sebastian added. “You’re our friends and we don’t like you two not gettin along.”

“So, let’s play nice.” Anthony cleared his throat. “Now, Y/N told us what happened between you guys…”

“ _ What? _ ” Chris almost yelled. The few people around them turned to look at their table. He lowered his voice “Why did she tell you?”

“Because she wanted us to know why you weren’t talking to her.”

“She had no right. That was our private business. She can’t just go around telling people.”

“ _ She _ is right here, thank you.” She said, getting fed up with Chris acting as if she wasn’t there. “And I just want a chance to explain what happened.”

“You need to let her explain,” Sebastian said.

“Oh, do I?”

“Yes!” Sebastian and Anthony said together.

He looked back and forth between the two men who stared back at him. Almost daring him to say no.

He sighed, sitting back and folding his arms. “Fine. Talk.” 

So she did. She told him everything. Even about meeting Jason. He frowned hearing the other guy’s name, but when she told him that Jason had decided not to pursue her, his posture changed. Unfolding his arms, he finally met her eyes. 

“... I’ve been miserable this past month, and all I wanted to do was explain to you that Jason meant nothing, and that you meant, well, everything. I didn’t want him, I wanted you. And I hate that the chance we had got screwed up.” She finished quietly.

Chris, ashamed of himself, looked down at his hands.

“Chris, say something to me please.” 

“I fucked up.” he said finally. 

“It’s not that bad, just a misunderstanding.” She reached across the table and touched his hand. He looked up at her, he wasn’t frowning anymore. She took that as a good sign, and smiled at him. “We can make up, try again?”

“No, you don’t understand. I fucked up, big.”

“What are you talkin about?” Anthony asked. “Why are you looking like that?”

“I…” Chris started. 

A voice behind them called out “Chrissy, honey, there you are!”

_ I know that voice, _ she thought.  _ It can’t be! _

They turned, and looked in the direction of that voice. That hated voice that made their hair stand on end.

Erica sashayed over to the table and leaning over, gave Chris a big kiss on the cheek. Anthony and Sebastian stared at him open-mouthed. Y/N sat there fuming. Here she had poured out her heart, told him how she felt and he did this. He went back to  _ her.  _

__ Sitting down, Erica said “I bet you guys thought you had seen the last of me huh?” she laughed. 

“Yeah, umm when did… why did… you two are back together?” Sebastian stammered out.

“Yep, well, you know Chris and I can’t be apart for long.” She reached over and stroked his arm.

Feeling angry and sick, Y/N got up. “I forgot I had, um, something to do. I gotta go.”

“Y/N, wait!” Chris called out.

“Oh let her go,” Erica said spitefully.

She rushed out of the restaurant, without looking back, tears gathering in her eyes. She walked across the street to a park and collapsed on a bench, and dissolved into heartbroken tears.


	3. Friends Part 3

“I cannot believe you, man!” Anthony almost yelled. “You-you went back to her over a misunderstanding!” 

“Why?” Sebastian asked. “Just why?”

Chris didn’t say anything, what could he say. He had went back to Erica, the woman he swore he would never go back to, all because he had been jealous. Now he’d lost Y/N; he was stuck with a woman he couldn’t stand to be around;  _ and _ his friends were lecturing him like they were his parents. 

“After the way she treated you, that last time” Anthony continued. “I thought we’d never see her again. I was  _ hoping _ we’d never see her again.”

“What were you thinking?” Sebastian asked. He sounded so much like his mother, that Chris looked up at him.

“Dude, seriously? You sound like my mom.”

“Well, it is a fair question.” 

“I don’t know. All I know is that I was mad. And hurt. I thought- I thought Y/N was gonna leave me.”

“So, what? You left her first?” 

Chris nodded his head. Leaning forward he put his head in his hands “I fucked up.”

“You can say that again.” Anthony said. He took a seat next to his friend and put a hand on his shoulder. “Look, we’ll figure something out. It’s not the end of the world.”

“How? I mean, what can we possibly do?”

“Well, first thing is getting rid of Erica.” he looked at Sebastian. “Any ideas on how to do that?”

“Wooden stake through the heart?” Sebastian suggested, trying to lighten the mood. 

Chris chuckled “Nah, that won’t work, I’ve tried it.”

They all laughed. “I’m gonna have to talk to her.” 

Sebastian and Anthony looked at each other. Knowing how well Erica could manipulate him.

Sebastian shrugged. “Yeah, it’s really the only way.”

“Good luck man, stay strong.” Anthony said.

\---------

Y/N paced her living room, unable to sit still. She’d left work early, because she had become so agitated she couldn’t focus. It had been two weeks since the restaurant, and she was still fuming over what had happened.

_ I cannot believe him! _ She thought furiously.  _ One tiny mistake, that he wouldn’t even let me explain, and he goes back to  _ her.

__ And to top it all off he hadn’t even tried to call her, not even a text. She had tried and tried to explain herself when he was mad, but now that the tables were turned: nothing! 

“Well then if he doesn’t care enough to explain himself, then he doesn’t care at all. So why should I spend my time worrying about him?” She said to herself. “I’ve gotta move on. The chance we had to be together is over.”

She sighed, trying to resign herself to her fate. She didn’t like it; she still wanted him. When she closed her eyes she could see him, she could still feel his arms around her, his kisses, his touch… she missed it. 

Shaking her head, she tried to clear her mind. “Moving on, moving on…” She picked up her phone and scrolled through the contacts.

“Hmm I could call Jason… not to go out, just to talk?”

She stared at his name for a good minute, she sighed and called him. As the phone rang she contemplated hanging up but before she could end the call, he answered.

“Hey, Y/N. What’s going on? Long time, no talk.”

“Hey, umm can you talk?”

“Yeah sure, what’s up? You okay?”

“Yeah… kinda... not really.”

“‘Yeah, kinda not really’ doesn’t sound good at all. What happened?”

She was quiet for a second. “Can I… would it be okay if we met for a bit?”

“Yeah sure. I can meet you in a few minutes at the park, you know the one across from that restaurant, York Place. You know where that is?”

“Yeah, I know where that is.” she said remembering how she had cried there until she couldn’t cry anymore.

“Okay, I’ll see you in a few.”

\---------

Chris paced in front of Erica, explaining why he didn’t want to be with her ever again. Erica just sat at her dining room table with a smirk on her face. How many times had he done this? And everytime he came crawling back. This last time was even better, they hadn’t even been broken up a day and he’d come knocking on her door asking her to take him back. 

She sat back in her chair and said, interrupting him, “Chrissy, honey, I don’t care what you say, you know you can’t stay away from me. We belong together. Why else would you keep coming back to me?

“I thought I couldn’t do any better.” He finally admitted to her. “But I know I can, I have. Y/N is better, matter of fact, she’s the best.”

“She’s not better than me, Chrissy, and you know that.” She scoffed. “I’m the best you’ll ever get. That  _ girl _ is nothing compared to me.”

Chris stopped pacing and looked at her, the woman who had dominated his life for so long. When they had first met all he could see were good qualities, and he hadn’t understood why his friends didn’t seem to care for her. But then, when Y/N came into their lives, he saw the ugly side of Erica: her jealousy, smugness, the way she talked down to his friends, and most importantly how she treated him. Always belittling him, never before had that happened and he had been slow to pick up on it. Soon the glass had shattered and he’d realized how bad she was. But she had gotten in his head, and he couldn’t shake her. Not until recently.

“No, you’re wrong. Me coming back to you was a mistake. I was hurt and vulnerable, not because of what I  _ thought _ Y/N was doing, but from what you did to me.”

“What  _ exactly _ did I do, Chrissy?”

“Don’t call me that, you know I hate that name. You know what you did, you broke me down until I felt like I couldn’t have anyone but you. I know better now.”

“I didn’t ‘break you down,’ Chrissy.” She smirked still using that name. “I opened your eyes, made you realize I’m the best you’ll ever get. You know that deep down, darling.”

“No, no. Deep down I  _ know _ the best thing for me is to get out, to get away from you. That’s the only way I can get what I want. That’s the only way I can be with Y/N. So this is me, getting out for good.”

“You said that last time.” She drawled. 

“Goodbye, Erica, don’t call me or contact me ever again.” He headed for her door.

She didn’t make a move to get up, still sitting with a smug look on her face she said “You’ll be back, Chrissy, honey. I’ll be here waiting.”

He closed the door on her and didn’t look back. 

He had to focus on his next mission: Finding Y/N and apologizing to her. He didn’t know if she would except but he had to.

\----------

“So, that’s what’s been going on with me.” Y/N finished explaining to Jason as they walked along the path in the park.

“Wow, not gonna lie, that’s a lot. You finally got a chance to talk to him and he goes back to his ex? Man, that’s really fucked up.”

“Yeah, that’s the nice way of putting it.”

“So, why’d you call me? I mean other than to talk?” 

She stopped and turned to him. She wasn’t going to lie to herself, Jason was a good looking guy, not as handsome as Chris, but he was nice, sweet, and most importantly, not haunted by his need to be around a horrible woman. Why not take a chance with him?

“I- I thought that, um, m-maybe we could, I don’t know, give it another try?” she mumbled.

Jason smiled. He did like Y/N. From the moment he’d met her, he’d knew there was something special about her. And it sucked that Chris couldn’t seem to see it. But he could tell, that even though she talked about moving on, she wasn’t really ready to, besides he’d had a confession of his own. Before he could explain, her phone rang.

“Oh, hold on, this is my friend Sebastian calling me.” She answered.

“Y/N, where are you?” He asked from the other end.

“I’m at the park across from York Place.”

She heard him relaying that message to someone that was with him. 

“Seb, who are you talkin to? Where are you?”

“I’m talking to… uh, no one. Um right so how long are you gonna be there?”

“That’s a really bad lie, Sebastian. What’s going on?”

“Nothing, just checking to see how you are.”

“Uh huh, right, well I’m in the middle of something, so I’ll talk to you later.” She hung up without giving him a chance to say goodbye.

Looking back at Jason she said “Sorry. Where were we?”

“It’s okay, umm I was about to tell you something.”

“What’s up?”

“Let’s sit down, over here.”

_ Uh oh, this can’t be good. _ She thought to herself.

\---------

Sebastian, turned to Chris and Anthony, “She’s at that park across the street from the restaurant, maybe if you hurry you can catch her.”

“Thanks, man.” Chris said getting out of their booth at Jay’s and hurrying out the door.

“You gotta pay for your drink!” Anthony shouted after him. Chris waved and hurried down the street. 

“I hope everything works out for them.” He said, turning back to Sebastian.

“Yeah me too, this whole situation has been crazy.”

“You can say that again.” he took a sip of his drink. “All I really need to make up. It’s been weird going back and forth between them.”

“Plus they’ll be happy… hopefully.”

“They will be.” Anthony said. He raised his glass and took another drink. “We’ll just have to wait and see.”

\----------

Chris had ran to the park. When he got there he hurried along the path looking for Y/N. He finally spotted her sitting on a bench, with some guy. 

_ No, no no no. It can’t be. _ He thought to himself.  _ I’m too late. _

He turned to walk away, but stopped himself.  _ Chris, you meatball!  _ He told himself.  _ Haven’t you learned anything from the last time? _

He stepped behind a big tree and strained to listen. He had to know what was going on before he jumped to conclusions, this whole situation should have taught him that.

“I have to tell you something.” The guy was saying to Y/N. Chris peered from behind the tree and saw him take her hand, Y/N smiled at the contact. He tensed at the sight.

“What is it? Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, everything is okay, better than okay, great actually.” Jason cleared his throat. “I, uh, I don’t really know how to tell you this.”

_ Just spit it out. _ Chris mentally yelled at him. He had to know what this guy was going to say.

“It’s okay, Jason, just spit it out. I can take it.”

Jason smiled and squeezed her hand. “Okay, well, I do like you, a lot. Under different circumstances we could have had something great. But our timing is off.”

“How do you mean?”

“Well, I recently, kinda met someone.” he said quickly, wanting to get it all out. “Her name is Elise. She’s really great, and smart, and sweet. Not- Not that you aren’t, cause you are!” he added quickly seeing her face. 

“It’s just that I… she isn’t, umm…”

“Bogged down by unnecessary drama?” Y/N finished for him.

“No! Well, yeah, but I wouldn’t call it ‘drama.’” he said. “It’s really just a bunch of unfortunate misunderstandings. Besides, I know you still care about Chris. In fact, I think you may be in love with him.”

She looked at him. “What makes you think that?”

Chris leaned in closer wanting to hear. 

“If you didn’t care, you wouldn’t have gotten this upset. I mean, you told me about how he was always going back to her, if you didn’t care, you wouldn’t have been mad. You would have just shrugged it off and moved on.”

Y/N was quiet for a moment, thinking. Finally she said “Yeah, yeah I think you’re right.”

“So go find him, or call him, or whatever. Fix this. I do think you two belong together. As for the two of us, I think we can be friends. I mean, who else shares my love for history?”

She smiled at him. “Yeah, I think that would be good. And I wish you good luck with Elise.”

“Thanks, Y/N. Good luck with Chris. I honestly hope you two can work it out.”

“Thanks, Jason.” 

He stood. “Look I'm actually supposed to be meeting her soon so I…”

“No, no I understand. You gotta go.”

They both stood and gave each other a hug.

“Listen I’ll call you, there’s a convention coming up I think you'd enjoy. We can go together.”

“Yeah, I’d like that.”

“Good luck, Y/N. I really mean it.”

“Thanks. Have fun.”

She stood and watched him walk away. 

\---------

Y/N paced her living room, phone in hand. It had been three hour since her conversation with Jason and she was still trying to decide whether or not she was going to call Chris. It would put this whole mess behind them. 

__ _ But he really should be the one to call me, _ she thought.  _ I mean this is kinda his fault.  _

__ She continued pacing and thinking.

\----------

“Why should you be waiting on her to call?” Anthony asked him.

“Yeah, I mean, no offense, but this is kinda all your fault, dude.” Sebastian added.

“That Jason guy told her to call me.” Chris said.

Anthony shook his head and said “No, no. Look, the time for phone calls is over. You two need to talk face to face.”

“He’s right,” Sebastian said. “Get over there.”

\---------

Y/N was still pacing the floor when there was a knock on her door. She sighed in frustration. She really didn’t want to be bothered right now. 

She walked over and shouted “Who is it?”

“It’s me, Chris.”

“What do you want?”

“I-- I need to talk to you.” He said. “I owe you an apology.”

“Yeah, you do.” 

“Can I come in?”

She opened the door and stepped back, letting him walk in. Seeing how upset he looked her heart melted. She was a little peeved that she couldn’t stay angry at him, but those sad eyes got to her every time.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “Sorry for everything. I can’t excuse the way I acted. But I want you to know that it won’t happen again.”

“Mmm-hmmm.”

“Is that all you have to say?”

She walked up and down her living room, his eyes on her. “I mean, what else can I say? Chris, you really hurt me. Before  _ and _ after I poured my heart out to you.”

“I know.”

“All I really wanted was you, and you did this!”

He hung his head.

She stopped in front of him. “Why? I just want to know why.”

He looked up at her “Because I was hurt and angry and jealous. And stupid. Very, very stupid.” 

“You can say that again.”

“I don’t have any excuses. I’m not trying to excuse my behavior, because what I did was, well, inexcusable. All I’m asking is for you to forgive me. That’s it. We don’t have to be together, if you don’t want. I just want your forgiveness.” 

She took a long, hard look at him. Could she forgive him? Yes, she could. But  _ should  _ she? She thought about everything he did and said, and started leaning toward ‘no,’ but then she thought back, before all this began, to the friendship they had, the good times they’d had together. She wanted that back.

She sighed.

“I don’t know, Chris. After everything that happened can we go back to being friends?”

His heart sunk at the word “friends.” He was hoping for more, to go back to that night, before he messed everything up. But this was his fault, and if friends is what she wanted, then friends is what he’d give her. He’d give her anything right now if she asked.

“We can try, Y/N. I’m willing to do anything.”

“Okay, Pooh Bear, take it down a notch, you know I don’t need all that.”

He smiled at her nickname for him. He had missed that more than he could say. 

“I know, I just… wanted you to know that I meant what I said and how I felt.”

He took a few steps toward her, and she didn’t back away.

“How did… do you feel?” she asked tentatively.

“When I didn’t have you, nothing felt right. I always felt like something was off. But now that I do have you back…” he stopped. She nodded. “Now that I do have you back, everything seems like it’s going to fall back into place.”

They both relaxed for the first time in weeks. They had each other back.

He looked at her and she smiled. He opened his arms and she went to them with no hesitation. This is what she had wanted. 

He hugged her tight, savoring the feel of her body against his. He rested his chin on her head. 

“I missed this,” she finally confessed. “I missed being near you, touching you, feeling you.” 

He pulled back a bit, looking down into her eyes. “Really?”

“Yeah, really.” 

He hesitated for a second then tilted her chin up and leaned forward and kissed her lightly. Taking it as a sign when she stood on her toes to kiss him again, he pulled her in closer and kissed her harder.

Finally coming up for air, he smiled at her and asked “Do you wanna try this again? I mean you and me? I mean if you wanna just stay friends that cool too, I was just wond--”

She kissed him again, stopping him from saying anything further.

“Yeah, yeah I do. Let’s try it again.” She said and took his hand, leading him into her bedroom.


End file.
